Who’s ready for a deep run in December? Team LearnWPT is here to help with a FREE strategy series focused on getting you and your game ready to dominate the 2024 WPT® World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas. To make the most of these gigantic fields and massive prize pools, it's important to have a solid preflop, postflop, and defense game-plan.

Today we are going to focus on improving your Mental Game.

The Mental Game is a crucial piece that is most often overlooked in poker training. Many players refuse to address nagging issues that prevent their growth in the game including fear, anger, and frustration. Let's Get Started...

Mental Game & Endurance Warm-Up Webinar

Winning a multi-day poker tournament against tough competition isn’t just about knowing how to make the correct strategic moves.

On your way to the Final Table you will face huge swings, stressful situations and frustrating opponents. How you respond to those moments has a lot to do with the strength of your Mental Game and your ability to quickly regroup after losing a big pot or suffering a bad beat. Many players ignore Mental Game issues that prevent growth in their game including fear, anger, and frustration.

In this session from our WPT World Championship Warm-Up series LearnWPT Coaches Jared Tendler and Adrian Naggy give you valuable strategies for managing routines, building confidence, and dealing with adversity. We’ll also talk about preparing for long tournament days and using physical fitness, rest, and proper nutrition to build endurance and optimize your play.

Tournament Series Prep With Jared

Your ability to execute strategy consistently at the poker table, even when you don’t have your best game, is a skill that can be trained.

Dedicated preparation time for your Mental Game prior to attacking a big tournament series like the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas is a hidden edge that most poker players ignore.

Here’s Jared with a breakdown of key strategies you can use to prepare your Mental Game and study routine to optimize for peak performance before your next tournament series.

Tournament Prep With Tony, Chewy, and Johan

Huge Tournament Series like the WPT World Championships at Wynn Las Vegas bring excitement and tons of opportunity. To make the most of these gigantic fields and massive prize pools, it's important to plan ahead for the unique challenges that you may encounter.

In this LearnWPT Strategy Episode hear firsthand from Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger, Tony Dunst, and Johan Schultz-Pedersen about how they prepare for peak performance during a long poker tournament series.

Tune in and get valuable strategies for preparing your mind and body to execute under pressure and maintain energy from the first hand to the final showdown, plus great insights on profiling new opponents and exploiting opponents.

Tackle Your Fear of Failure in Poker

You've made the final table and are ready to go for the win, and then the thought crosses your mind:

"I've been playing great poker for 2 straight days, I am so close to the win, but what happens if I lose?"

Suddenly each decision is harder, and your brain is flooded with emotion and information. Has this ever happened to you? Watch this Strategy Episode as Jared tackles this issue head-on and provides a detailed approach for confronting your fear of failure in poker.

Not a LearnWPT Member? Join now for just $5 your first month of Membership to watch the full Episode

Tune Up Your Mental Game and Save!

Analysis of Mental Game strategy is as important as any poker technique you can master which is why top poker players trust Jared Tendler to help maintain focus & bring their A-game to the table.

Jared's Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker course is a step-by-step guide to prepare your mental game for sustained success and get you ready for the WPT® World Championships or a series at your local card room.

BONUS: For a limited time, through December 2, 2024, SAVE 50% on Jared's course (use promo code BF50 at checkout).

In this section from his course Mental Game Tune Up for Tournament Poker Jared tells you why it’s critical to have a process for preparing to play your A-game aside from studying strategy.

This step-by-step guide to preparing your mental game for sustained success during a tournament series includes:

➧ 8 specific training modules with 34 video lessons
➧ Downloadable worksheets to personalize your training
➧ A private community forum
➧ Review quizzes to reinforce your learning!

Purchase this course today for just $325.50 (normally $649) and get lifetime access to the course videos, downloadable worksheets, quizzes, and interactive forums.

Use promo code BF50 at checkout to receive the discount!

Find out why the world’s best poker players trust Jared to help them maintain focus and bring their A-Game to the table more consistently. Unlock a hidden edge in your poker game, and start working towards unshakable confidence at the table today.

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

Who’s ready for a deep run in December? Team LearnWPT is here to help with a FREE strategy series focused on getting you and your game ready to dominate the 2024 WPT® World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas.

To make the most of these gigantic fields and massive prize pools, it's important to have a solid preflop, postflop, and defense game-plan. In this blog we are focusing on Intuition and Exploitative Strategy (stay tuned for ICM, Satellite, and Mental Game Strategy!).

A common trait shared by most successful tournament players is the ability to identify when an opponent is making an obvious mistake and knowing how to shift gears and use Exploits to maximize their edge. Whether it’s odd bet-sizing, frequent over-calling, or taking too many hands to showdown, you must identify and capitalize on these mistakes if you want to stay ahead of the field. Our next Warm-Up Session is all about using your strategic knowledge to punish bad plays and cultivate your feel for the game. Let's Get Started...

Intuition & Exploitative Play Warm-Up Webinar

There’s no doubt that consistently training your game online at LearnWPT.com will put you in a good position to play your best. However, in real-world games there are a wide variety of opponents and unique spots that will force you to make decisions in situations that might not have come up during your preparation.

In this session from our WPT World Championship Warm-Up series LearnWPT Instructors Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano will break down the tendencies you should be on the lookout for and the exploitative adjustments that are likely to net you more chips, or help avoid disaster and conserve your stack. We’ll also talk about how being prepared and staying present at the table can increase your intuition and elevate your play.

Have Strategy Questions? LearnWPT Members can talk directly to the LearnWPT Pros in our Ask a Pro Discord!

Live Reads and Tells With Tony Dunst...

Unlike Hollywood movies, you probably won’t play against an opponent who broadcasts their hand strength by how they eat a cookie. You’ll need to pay much closer attention to specific actions including bet-sizing, timing, and whether they are more interested in the game on TV than your 3-bet range from the Cutoff.

Maximizing your edge in tournament poker comes from focusing on subtle changes in process and glaring strategic errors that can tip your opponent’s holdings. Developing a profile based on these tendencies will allow you to use exploitative adjustments more effectively and can play a big factor in making close decisions against specific opponents much easier.

LearnWPT Instructor and WPT Commentator Tony Dunst describes the Top 8 Tells he’s observed in live poker and gives you tips on making Table Reads that will add profit to your bottom line.

Unconscious Competence with Jared

How can you develop Intuition by training poker skills? As you study and practice poker using a structured system over time your skills become practically automatic. When you continue to build a game plan with consistent effort your play becomes much less burdened with simple decisions. Your energy and focus can be trained on observing opponents and looking for exploits.

Watch this Strategy Episode as LearnWPT Mental Game Coach Jared Tendler breaks down why training new skills to the point of Unconscious Competence is your goal and outlines the process you should follow to measure growth in your poker game.

Exploitative Play With LuckyChewy

Exploiting your opponents at the poker table requires focus and keen situational awareness, as well as having a game plan for how to make the most profit from their mistakes. You need a solid understanding of why these errors make your opponent vulnerable and how to attack their weakness, or you’ll likely experience inconsistent results when trying to exploit opponents.

In this Strategy Episode LearnWPT Instructor Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger analyzes common spots to illustrate how exploitative adjustments based on specific opponent tendencies can yield much greater value with premium hands.

Not a Member? Join for just $5 your first month to watch the full Strategy Episode and attend our next LIVE Study Session.

Extracting Maximum Value With Gags

Your opponents may change several times in any given poker tournament, so developing a specific player profile can be difficult, if not impossible. Bet-Sizing errors are often the best indicator of an opponent who is deviating from sound strategy and are most likely to make big mistakes postflop. Exerting your skill edge in these spots means staying alert and avoiding autopilot, especially when you flop a huge hand.

Watch this Strategy Episode as Michael "Gags30" Gagliano explains how maximizing your opportunities against opponents when you have a defined read is vital to growing your stack during a multi-day tournament Championship event.

The difference between a small profit and a life changing score could lie in your ability to capitalize on obvious strategic errors. Watch as Gags breaks down hands where he uses exploitative lines to extract maximum value and demonstrates how to weigh the potential risk/reward of bet sizing to determine the best approach.

Improve Your Game With Team LearnWPT

Whether you are brand-new to poker training or you’re an experienced student this is your chance to learn from world-class professional poker players in a friendly community using state of the art tools.

Become a LearnWPT Member today (for just $5 your 1st month) and join our monthly LIVE Study Sessions, gain access to over 550 Strategy Episodes, drill hands with the WPT GTO Trainer, and more!

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

Who’s ready for a deep run in December? Team LearnWPT is here to help with a FREE strategy series focused on getting you and your game ready to dominate the 2024 WPT® World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas.

To make the most of these gigantic fields and massive prize pools, it's important to have a solid preflop, postflop, and defense game-plan. In this blog we are focusing on Postflop Strategy (stay tuned for Exploitative Play, ICM Strategy, Mental Game and more!)

In any given hand of tournament poker the community cards (flop, turn, and river) can change equities dramatically and quickly force difficult decisions for your entire chip stack. Accurate assessment of ranges for each opponent based on position and how they enter the pot preflop play a vital role in your approach to postflop play. Recognizing the different types of board textures and analyzing how each changes the likely actions of your opponent is crucial for maximizing value on your big hands and avoiding costly mistakes deep in tournaments.

Let's Get Started on Improving Your Postflop Play...

Postflop Strategy Warm-Up Webinar

If you’re planning to make a deep run in the $5M GTD WPT Prime Championship or WPT World Championship (or both!), making sure your postflop strategy is strong and adaptable is crucial. There will be many deep-stacked spots postflop where you'll be facing tough decisions and potentially have your tournament life in the balance.

In this 90 minute session from our WPT World Championship Warm-Up series LearnWPT Instructors Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano are all about getting you geared up to attack flops with properly sized c-bets, identify spots to float aggressive opponents, and give you the tools to make huge laydowns and big hero calls when the pressure is on. Gags and Rizen also discuss how to approach tough opponents and break down exploitative adjustments to max value when you have the skill edge.

Have Postflop Strategy questions? LearnWPT Members can talk directly to the LearnWPT Pros in our Ask a Pro Discord!

C-Betting Vs Tough Opponents

Whether in a cash game or tournament, continuation betting is a key part of postflop strategy. A strong default c-betting strategy will put most players on the defensive and result in winning many uncontested pots.

However, as you face more skilled opponents additional factors must be considered to ensure your c-bets are profitable. When facing tougher opponents, you’ll need to upgrade your approach and adjust how frequently you fire again on the flop after raising first-in.

Watch this Strategy Episode as Nick Binger explains how equity advantage, nut advantage, and your perceived range help you decide when to c-bet against tough opponents. Plus, Nick outlines the common spots vs tough opponents that are the most challenging.

Playing Draws Effectively

Deeper effective stacks and championship blind levels means that you will be playing speculative cards at a higher frequency and flopping your share of draws. With skilled opponents and a reentry available, the frequency with which your opponents are likely to be taking chances with this category of hands also greatly increases.

Having a default process for determining pot odds and hand equity in real-time eliminates the anxiety around poker math. Add these simple rules for calculating outs and equity and quickly determine the pot odds you need to be profitable with a draw in any situation.

Watch this Strategy Episode as LearnWPT Instructor Nick Binger gives you the key factors to consider when playing draws including playing from both in position and out of position pots.

Applying Pressure With Draws

Since you’ll be raising first-in with speculative combos at a higher frequency when deepstacked, it stands to reason that you’ll also be playing draws as the aggressor far more often.

While the math behind making your draws may be the same on the surface, there are several additional layers that dictate your strategy when leading the betting after flopping a draw.

Watch this Strategy Episode as Nick takes a deeper dive into the strategy behind playing draws aggressively including how a paired board can actually increase our hand's equity.

Not a LearnWPT Member? Join now for just $5 your first month for more Strategy Episodes and downloadable tools.

🧮️ Time for a Math Lesson

Understanding Odds and Outs is a vital component to playing draws effectively. Here are some quick shortcuts to use on the felt when calculating Odds and Outs to simplify playing draws.

Outs - Rule of 2 and Rule of 4:

Rule of 2: Percentage of Hitting on the Next Card = Number of Outs * 2
➧ Example: 8 Outs * 2 = 16% Chance

Rule of 4: (Calling an all-in with 2 or more cards to come only) Percentage of Hitting Next Card on Turn/River = Number of Outs * 4
➧ Example: 12 Outs * 4 = 48% Chance

When you have more than 8 Outs: Subtract number of outs over 8 from your Chance of Hitting
➧ Example: 12 Outs * 4 = 48% Chance of Hitting
➧ Example: 12 Outs - 8 = Adjustment of 4
➧ Example: 48% - 4 = 44% Chance of Hitting

Pot Odds -  Rules of Thumb:

➧ When facing a pot sized bet the pot odds are always 2:1
➧ When facing a half pot sized bet the pot odds are always 3:1
➧ You can always round numbers to simplify
➧ Compare Pot Odds vs Hand Odds. If Pot Odds are more favorable it is a profitable situation.

For more on poker Outs, Pot Odds, and Implied Odds check out...

• Episode 37 Outs \ au̇tz \ noun: Any card that needs to come on the flop, turn, or river in order to improve your hand
• Episode 39 Pot Odds \ pät ˈädz \ noun: A ratio comparing the size of the pot to the size of the bet
• Episode 41 Implied Odds \ im-plī ˈädz \ noun: A ratio showing the relationship between the expected size of a pot and size of a bet

Equity Advantage & Nut Advantage

What is Equity in Poker? Equity is defined as the share of the pot that is yours based on the odds that you will win the pot at that point in play. Equity can and often does change from street to street.

A solid understanding of equity helps you identify spots where you are ahead or behind enabling you to make the best betting decisions.

In this Strategy Episode Nick Binger introduces the concepts of Equity and Advantage and Nut Advantage. Tune in as Nick describes these concepts in detail and reveals how key tenants of the LearnWPT game-plan naturally account for them.

Quick Tips For Equity Vs Nut Advantage:

• Equity Advantage: When a given hand range has more equity vs an opponent hand range. The preflop aggressor will have the Equity Advantage in most cases
• Nut Advantage: When a hand range has more combinations of cards that make the best possible hand on a given board vs an opponent's hand range.

We’re in the home stretch now! Make sure to submit any questions or hands on trouble spots to Ask a Pro Discord and we’ll get you ready to conquer Vegas.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

Whether you are brand-new to poker training or you’re an experienced student this is your chance to learn from world-class professional poker players in a friendly community using state of the art tools.

Click the red JOIN NOW button to get started and you'll immediately gain access to LearnWPT Training and WPT GTO Trainer packs, 550+ Strategy Videos, Downloadable Tools, Ask a Pro Discord, (and more).

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

Who’s ready for a deep run in December? Team LearnWPT is here to help with a FREE strategy series focused on getting you and your game ready to dominate the 2024 WPT® World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas.

To make the most of these gigantic fields and massive prize pools, it's important to have a solid preflop, postflop, and defense game-plan. In this blog we are focusing on Defense Strategy (stay tuned for Postflop, Exploitative Play, ICM Strategy, Mental Game and more!)

You will face raises with a high frequency throughout the course of a tournament and fortifying your defense strategy must be a big part of preparation. Focusing on the specific ranges that perform best in these spots and practicing the typical postflop situations that result from Defense scenarios is essential to growing and protecting your chip stack. Let's Get Started Improving Your Defense Game...

Defense Strategy Warm-Up Webinar

Aggressive opponents and escalating blinds combine to create a paralyzing force during a major poker tournament, especially given the increased odds with a Big Blind Ante in play.

Poker tournaments with excellent structures like the 2024 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas are full of aggressive opponents who attack blinds and pressure opponents to build their stacks. If you aren’t prepared for this level of aggression or lack confidence when facing a raise from the Blinds or on the Button, the likely result is indecision and bleeding chips.

In this session from our WPT World Championship Warm-Up series LearnWPT Instructors Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano take a deep dive into the specific strategies you can use when facing aggression in common Defense situations at the poker table. We'll also examine the factors that you need to consider when deciding to defend in position vs out of position.

Ready to watch the rest of this series? Members can rewatch the Study Sessions anytime on the Webinars Dashboard.

Turn and River Play With Tony Dunst

With more opportunities to Defend your Big Blind, you’ll definitely be in some interesting postflop situations facing a wider range of hands. In many of these spots you’re likely to face a continuation bet, so understanding which board textures are favorable for floating and when bluffing may be an option is valuable. Navigating these spots from out of position without the equity advantage translates to more difficult decisions on every street. To gain a true understanding of how tough these spots can be it’s essential to analyze postflop Big Blind Defense situations away from the table.

Join LearnWPT Instructor Tony Dunst as he explores 3 hands from recent sessions to break down optimal play on the turn and river when defending from the Big Blind. Watch this Strategy Episode as Tony uses PioSolver to demonstrate how ranges interact in this spot and what factors you should be accounting for.

🔘 Button Up Your Defense

The Button is the most powerful position at the table and it should be a priority to play as many hands as possible when you are in that seat. By entering the hand on the Button, you secure ultimate position postflop and can deploy a wide array of bluffs and creative plays on many board textures. While position plays a major factor in your ability to win, playing just any 2 cards is not viable and there still needs to be a structured response strategy to maximize value.

In this Strategy Episode Nick Binger analyzes the hand ranges you should be using to Defend your Button in Tournaments. Watch as Nick details key range adjustments for each positional group and gives you shortcuts for adjusting to different player types in real-time.

Not a Member? Join for just $5 your first month to watch the full Episodes, download the charts, and attend our next live webinar.

🛡️ Defend Your Big Blind

The Big Blind Ante creates more attractive risk/reward and increases in the frequency you should defend against a single open raiser. Increased pot odds preflop allows for Defending with shallower stacks more often, and the specific portions of your range that perform best across each stack size is constructed differently.

Upgrading your Big Blind Defense Strategy to focus on these specific stack size inflection points will reduce the stress around these decisions in real-time.

Watch this Strategy Episode from Nick Binger for an in-depth look at Big Blind Defense in tournaments with stacks ranging from 15BBs to 40BBs. Tune in as Nick describes the strategy for each stack size based on open-raises from late, middle, and early position.

Tips for Defending Your Big Blind Like A Pro:

• Avoid calling with offsuit hands, suited hands and speculative hands are best
• This strategy only applies when you are up against 1 opponent and in the Big Blind
• Make sure you only defend by calling with specific hands. Don’t remove 3-Betting from your game plan!
• Defend with tighter calling range against larger open raise sizes
• Default to checking the flop after you call the raise, no matter what cards you hold

Defending Your Small Blind...

Improving your play from the Small Blind can have a dramatic impact on your tournament game and help avoid leaking chips due to critical mistakes. Spend time studying your Defense Strategy from the Small Blind and improve your play from the toughest seat at the table.

Watch this Strategy Episode as Nick introduces a tool for your tournament game-plan, Small Blind Defense. Nick also provides detailed hand ranges and discusses your approach to defending the Small Blind in Tournaments.

Not a Member? Join for just $5 your first month to watch the full Episodes, download the charts, and attend our next live webinar.

We’re in the home stretch now! Make sure to submit any questions or hands on trouble spots in the LearnWPT Ask a Pro Discord we’ll get you ready to conquer Vegas.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

Who’s ready for a deep run in December? Team LearnWPT is here to help with a FREE strategy series focused on getting you and your game ready to dominate the 2024 WPT® World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas.

To make the most of these gigantic fields and massive prize pools, it's important to have a solid preflop, postflop, and defense game-plan. In this blog we are focusing on Preflop Strategy (stay tuned for Defense, Postflop, Exploitative Play, ICM Strategy, and more!)

There are only a few things you can actually control at the table during a hand of poker. By far, the most important is your ability to choose the right cards to play before the flop. Knowing which hands to raise first-in with and how to adjust based on position and stack depth is the bedrock of winning tournament poker. Responding to aggression with the correct strategy is vital to accumulating a big stack and crucial to avoiding costly mistakes that can derail your Championship run. Let's Get Started With Preflop ...

Preflop Strategy Warm-Up Webinar

Knowing how and when to make moves Preflop is one of the keys to getting a hold of chips in a poker tournament. Since simply deciding to bet, raise, or call based on “feel” is not a proven way to be a long-term winner, it’s essential to base your move-making on a solid theoretical base.

In the first session from our WPT World Championship Warm-Up series LearnWPT Instructors Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Michael "Gags30" Gagliano focus on the one decision you must make in every hand you play - what to do when action folds to you preflop. They’ll also break down how to apply pressure with 3-Betting and give you tools to gain a skill edge on your opponents.

Have Preflop Strategy questions? LearnWPT Members can talk directly to the LearnWPT Pros in our Ask a Pro Discord!

Know The Basics: Start With The 5 Keys 🔑

Solid preflop play isn’t just about selecting the best hand combinations. Understanding the “why” behind choosing specific hands to play from each position and how these choices affect our decisions on later streets is essential to building a winning game plan. These 5 Key Factors are important to think about EVERY time you play a hand and they will guide your decisions on later streets:

1. Always be aware of your and your opponent's Position
2. Know the Stack Depth and Effective Stack in terms of big blinds
3. Assign Preflop Ranges (not just a specific hand) based on each player’s position and how they entered the pot
4. Note the Number of Opponents seeing the flop
5. Understand the Board Texture and how it affects your next move

Get these 5 Key Basics down pat by watching these four LearnWPT Strategy Episodes:

The 5 Keys Of Poker Tournament Strategy Quick Tips:

To build mental muscle memory for these concepts in real-time, focus on the 5 Key Factors even when you are NOT in the hand. Notice hands that were shown down, you’ll find an interesting trend...

• The more players that see the flop, the stronger the average hand will be at showdown
• The more coordinated a board is, the more likely it is someone has a strong draw or made hand
• Multiway and Coordinated? You’ll likely see the strongest possible hands in a player’s range at showdown

🛑 Know Your First-In Hand Ranges

During the course of a poker tournament you are likely to face dozens of stressful decisions. Your ability to stay present in the moment and focus on the 5 Key Factors will likely decide whether you make a deep run or bust out on Day 1. Luckily there are some things you can start doing now to take away distractions and help make high quality strategic decisions under pressure.

Spend just a few minutes each day reviewing the Game Theory Optimal (GTO) Preflop Hand Ranges. Over time you will gain a solid grasp of each positional range and your preflop decisions will feel less stressful. You’ll free up mental energy to work on other areas of your game and be able to maintain sharp focus when facing tough spots postflop.

Watch this Strategy Episode from LearnWPT Instructor Nick Binger as he gives you a detailed breakdown of which hands you should play from each seat position when raising first-in to the pot.

If you are a tournament player and haven't added these first-in hand ranges to your game plan you are missing opportunities to grow your chip stack and gain a balanced preflop attack. Understanding what hands to act with preflop from Early, Middle, or Late Position is crucial to your success!

Here are a few points from this Episode to remember...

Think in Hand Ranges:

• A range includes all hands a player may have in a given situation
• Avoid trying to put your opponent on a specific hand
• Position, action, and stack depth help determine ranges
• Analyzing hand ranges is best done away from the table

➧ Download a copy of the GTO First-In Hand Ranges

Use these rock solid Game Theory Optimal hand ranges and you'll be well on your way to an award winning performance at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas!

These charts will tell you what hands to play when you are the first person to put money into the pot at the poker table. They'll keep you on very solid, profitable ground.

Quick Tips For Using the First-In Hand Range Charts:

• Use the Position Graphic to determine your position at the table and reference the appropriate range chart for your seat - Helpful Tip: Always count backwards from the Button to determine your position
• You should raise with all hands highlighted in PINK. Do not call the minimum bet amount - RAISE!
• Your raise sizing should be between 2.3 and 3 times the big blind amount depending on stack depth.
• Stay consistent with your raise sizing. If you raise a larger amount with a specific hand and smaller amounts with others, you will be easier to read at the table (IE don't raise to 600 with AA, but 400 with 99)

You'll develop Muscle Memory for preflop play by simply reviewing the charts and putting them into practice at the table!

Not a LearnWPT Member? Join now for just $5 your first month for more Strategy Episodes and downloadable tools.

We’re in the home stretch now! Make sure to submit any questions or hands on trouble spots to Ask a Pro Discord and we’ll get you ready to conquer Vegas.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

Improve Your Game With Team LearnWPT

Whether you are brand-new to poker training or you’re an experienced student this is your chance to learn from world-class professional poker players in a friendly community using state of the art tools.

Become a LearnWPT Member today (for just $5 your 1st month) and join our monthly LIVE Study Sessions, gain access to over 550 Strategy Episodes, drill hands with the WPT GTO Trainer, and more!

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

➧ November 6th Winner: Andrew Stern
➧ November 13th Winner: Matthew Drager
➧ November 20th Winner: Christopher Gilley
➧ November 27th Winner: Robert Koller

Team LearnWPT will be at the Wynn Las Vegas helping cheer on our 4 winners - Help us wish them luck!

Thank you to everyone who participated and we look forward to offering more ways to get you on the felt and at the final table.

If you are playing any of the WPT World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas events let us know and if you see any of the stop and say Hi.

Good luck and good playing,
- Team LearnWPT

In celebration of the launch of ClubWPT Gold, the World Poker Tour is hosting a 2,000 player, invitation-only freeroll tournament during the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas and we want to help LearnWPT Students get in the action!

Don't miss this chance to play in the biggest live freeroll of all time on December 13th in Las Vegas and walk away with the $1,000,000 life-changing 1st prize or win one of 100 seats to the $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship.

To be eligible to win a seat, players must first visit ClubWPTGold.com and sign up for a free account with code LEARNWPT (no purchase necessary) prior to November 27th. Once completed you will be eligible to win 1 of 4 Golden Passports awarded in November (your $2,500 value ticket to the event) specifically for LearnWPT students.

Click here to register with code LearnWPT, be sure to complete the verification process, and you're entered to win!

Must be a legal resident of the United States (excluding the states of Idaho, Michigan, Montana, and Washington) and the District of Columbia and be able to play the event in on December 13th in Las Vegas. Participation is void where prohibited by law.

ClubWPT Gold $5,000,000 Invitational Freeroll at Wynn Las Vegas:
➧ December 13, 2024 - Day 1 at 10:00 AM PT
➧ December 14, 2024 - Day 2 at 10:00 AM PT
➧ December 15, 2024 - TV Final Table at 4:00 PM PT
➧ See the full schedule here

What You're Playing For:
➧ 503 players in the money (~25% Paid)
➧ 1/5 Chance Consolation Prize to win a $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship seat
➧ Mystery Bounties begin at final 297 players - chance to win top prizes of two $100K envelopes, two $50K, four $25K, and four $10K
➧ Click here for more info

One Golden Passport winner will be drawn each Wednesday starting on November 6th through November 27th. Winners will be contacted directly by ClubWPT Gold confirming your seat and next steps. If you need assistance creating your ClubWPT Gold account click here for additional information.

You've put in the work, now let's get you in the action!

Good luck,
Team LearnWPT

P.S. Click here for everything you need to know about the freeroll

No purchase necessary. Must be a legal resident of the United States (excluding the states of Idaho, Michigan, Montana, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Participation is void where prohibited by law. Void where prohibited. Must be 21+ to gamble. The Golden Passport valued at $2,500. The Golden Passport is non-transferable. Winner must play the awarded event seat on December 13, 2024 or the prize will be voided. Prize includes one seat only and does not include transportation, lodging, taxes, food and beverages.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of the $1,100 WPT Prime Championship Tournament with blinds at 300/500 and a 500 big blind ante. Most stacks are between 50-100BBs and you have 95BBs. First to act, you raise to 1,300 with A♦K♦. Action folds to the Hijack who makes it 3,800, the Big Blind cold 4-bets to 8,500, and action is back on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing the early stages of the WPT Prime Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The blinds are 300/500 with a 500 big blind ante. Most of the table has between 50-100 big blinds. We are dealt A♦K♦ Under the Gun (UTG) with 47,500 chips in our stack. AK suited is firmly in our first-in opening range from early position, so we raise to 1,300 chips. Action folds to the Hijack who makes it 3,800. Everyone else folds to the Big Blind who cold 4-bets to 8,500.

Since we raised UTG and were reraised by the Hijack, the player in the Big Blind should already be putting us both on very narrow ranges. This means that the Big Blind’s cold 4-betting ranges should be quite polarized, with most bluff combinations that have card removal effects to the opponent's biggest hands. A good example of a hand that fits this category is A5s.

If we analyze this spot in a solver and assume the Hijack and Big Blind are using appropriately balanced ranges, we see that the recommended play with AKs is to shove all-in. In fact, the most surprising thing that we see in the solver output is that almost our entire range is reduced to shove or fold against this 4-bet from the Big Blind. The combinations that are recommended to raise small and call an all-in make up a tiny percentage of the strategy.

This spot is still incredibly close given the strength of our hand preflop. Shoving AKs has a slightly positive expectation, however the offsuit versions of AK are neutral with the solver recommending a fold over half the time. Based on this output we can make a few general assumptions.

We should not be flat calling this raise, or raising a size that is not all-in. Additionally, our hand will quickly become unprofitable if the Big Blind is not 4-betting an appropriate range that is balanced and includes ATs/A5s with some frequency, JJ about half the time, and AQs almost always.

So without any knowledge of how our opponents play, we should move all-in here and assume they are playing reasonable ranges. If the Big Blind is 4-betting a narrower range than optimal, or if we feel our edge over the table is significant enough that passing on a spot that might be slightly +EV to make sure we are around for future opportunities where we can exert our skill edge, then folding would be best.

Moving all-in is the best play, unless we have player specific reads or a significant table edge, in which case folding is best.

📚 Poker Study Sessions With Team LearnWPT

Ready for December? NOW is the perfect time to start preparing!

Team LearnWPT is back with a Member Exclusive Study Session Webinar series to get you ready to dominate the WPT® World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas this December. We’re holding four interactive sessions focused on plugging the biggest leaks in your tournament poker game.

Each Study Session includes lively interactive lectures focused on sharpening fundamentals and provides key strategic reminders to make sure your game is rock solid and ready to make deep runs. We’ll also recommend supporting Strategy Episodes to watch prior to each Session. The best part? You can ask questions and get direct feedback from Team LearnWPT during the Webinar.

A huge THANK YOU to every Student who’s joined us for the WPT World Championship Study Sessions. Members can rewatch the sessions anytime from the Webinars Dashboard.

Not a Member but want to watch or attend the Session? You can today for just $5 your first month of LearnWPT Membership!

We’re in the home stretch now! LearnWPT Members - make sure to submit any questions or hands on trouble spots to Ask a Pro Discord and we’ll get you ready to conquer Vegas!

Good luck and good playing,
-Team LearnWPT

Review Previous Poker Study Sessions!

➧ Study Session 4: Plugging River Leaks - River play allows for more creativity and aggression, especially when a lot of chips are on the line. Tough opponents will look to get max value with big hands and use pressure to steal their fair share of pots with bluffs. In this Session we'll go over specific examples of the biggest River Leaks and how you can stop them from draining your stack. Live with Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Adrian Naggy: Wednesday, November 20th

➧ Watch these Strategy Episodes to prepare for Session 4:
• Episode 309: Plugging River Leaks With Tony Dunst
• Episode 349: From the Lab - 2 GTO River Spots
• Episode 401: Unexpected Solver Bluff Spots With Tony Dunst

Thanks to everyone who joined the Live Study Session!

Did you miss it? No worries! Members can rewatch the Study Sessions anytime on the Webinars Dashboard.

➧ Study Session 3: Plugging Turn Leaks - Turn play can be challenging. Equities can change quickly on this street and you need to be alert for moves, especially when facing tough opponents. You need to keep the pressure on and win more pots. In this Session we’ll talk about the biggest errors made on the Turn and what you can do to prevent them from derailing your next deep run. Live with Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Adrian Naggy: Wednesday, October 30th

➧ Watch these Strategy Episodes to prepare for Session 3:
• Episode 31: Turn Second Bullet Basic
• Episode 291: Turn Considerations
• Episode 346: Turn Checks
• Episode 554: Turn Leads

Thanks to everyone who joined the Live Study Session!

Did you miss it? No worries! Members can rewatch the Study Sessions anytime on the Webinars Dashboard.

➧ Study Session 2: Plugging Flop Leaks - Making good Flop decisions ensures you’ll have a great chance to grow your stack while also smartly protecting your chips when taking a cautious line is the better play. In this Session we’ll talk about the biggest Flop errors and what you can do to prevent them from derailing your next deep run. Live with Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Adrian Naggy: Wednesday, September 25th

➧ Watch these Strategy Episodes to prepare for Session 2:
• Episode 208: Check-Raising Instead of C-Betting
• Episode 294: C-Betting Against Tough Opponents
• Episode 471: Train & Explain - BB Call Vs BTN Open at 20BBs
Play the same hands that Nick analyzes and follow along

Thanks to everyone who joined the Live Study Session!

Did you miss it? No worries! Members can rewatch the Study Sessions anytime on the Webinars Dashboard.

➧ Study Session 1: Avoiding Common Preflop Mistakes - Knowing how and when to make moves preflop is one of the keys to getting a hold of chips in a poker tournament. In this Session we'll discuss key opponent tendencies you need to be on alert for, how to spot leaks in your strategy, and how to adjust to specific player types. Live with Eric "Rizen" Lynch and Adrian Naggy: August 28th

➧ Watch these Strategy Episodes to prepare for Session 1:
• Episode 305: First-In Hand Ranges
• Episode 405: Button Defense
• Episode 463: Big Blind Defense at 15-40BBs

Thanks to everyone who joined the Live Study Session!

Did you miss it? No worries! Members can rewatch the Study Sessions anytime on the Webinars Dashboard.

Improve Your Game With Team LearnWPT

The time is NOW to start getting your poker game ready!

Whether you are brand-new to poker training or you’re an experienced student this is your chance to learn from world-class professional poker players in a friendly community using state-of-the-art tools.

You must be a LearnWPT Member to access and join the WPT® World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas Study Sessions and becoming a Member is easy! Click the red JOIN NOW button to get started.

As a Member you'll gain access to LearnWPT Training and WPT GTO Trainer packs, featuring Downloadable Tools, our Ask a Pro Forums, over 500 Strategy Videos (and more).

All for just $5 your first month of Membership.

We'll see you online,
-Team LearnWPT

Have Questions about LearnWPT? Send an email to our Support Team at [email protected] or click the red CONTACT US button.

LearnWPT Instructor Johan Schultz-Pedersen took to the online felt last weekend to win his FIRST career WSOP Bracelet!

Johan captured WSOP Bracelet #1 and the $149,745 1st place prize after outlasting the 3,379 entry field in the $400 No-Limit World Series of Poker Colossus Online Event #20. As a testament to Johan’s focus and determination, he won his first bracelet while on an off day before the start of Day 2 of the $10K WSOP Main Event!

This incredible victory is the highlight of an already epic summer, including 🔥 12 WSOP cashes and a Final Table in the super stacked WPT Alpha8 Trifecta $25K buy-in event at Wynn Las Vegas.

Johan adds this win to his impressive list of live and online career accomplishments including:

➧ WSOP Bracelet Winner
➧ More Than $1 Million in Combined Online and Live Earnings
➧ PartyPoker $150K GTD Tournament Champion
➧ Final Table $5K Buy-in EPT London Main Event
➧ Multiple Cashes in $25K Events Including WPT and PokerGO Tour

Johan’s knowledge of Game Theory Optimal (GTO) poker strategy has been a valuable asset in developing many of the training solutions currently available for the WPT GTO Trainer.

We are very proud to have Johan on Team LearnWPT and know that this is just the beginning of his championship success.

Congratulations Johan!
- Team LearnWPT

He's done it again!

LearnWPT Instructor Tony Dunst took to the online felt last weekend to win his third career WSOP Bracelet!

Tony captured WSOP Bracelet #3 and the $134,888 1st place prize after outlasting the 2,435 entry field in the $500 No-Limit World Series of Poker Deepstack Online Event #15. After a hard fought 13 hour battle of online play through a massive field stacked with Pros and online grinders the remaining 8 players reached the final table.

Just as the sun was rising over the Las Vegas Valley, the last hand of heads up play with his opponent “vevere” was dealt, and the marathon session ended with Tony securing WSOP Bracelet #3.

Tony adds this win to his impressive list of live and online career accomplishments including:

➧ World Poker Tour Champion
➧ 3x WSOP Bracelet Winner
➧ 3x WSOP Circuit Ring Winner
➧ More than $5 Million combined live and online cashes
➧ World Poker Tour Lead Commentator
➧ 10+ Years as Professional Player and Respected Coach

Since the beginning of LearnWPT in 2016 Tony has been an incredible asset to LearnWPT Members providing unique insights and expert strategy advice. His experience in the booth and on the felt combine for a one of a kind perspective on the game and we are proud to have him on Team LearnWPT.

Congratulations Tony!
- Team LearnWPT